Materialism, which is often characterized by an obsession over clothing, appearances, or items such as electronics and cars, has been an aspect of high school life for years. Though it may be influenced by different factors in any given area, for the most part, students in many places exhibit some kind of materialistic behavior. Although some view it as unhealthy, others do not perceive materialism as an issue. Materialism may be perceived in different ways depending on the population sampled. Socioeconomic diversity, or lack thereof, can sway one’s view of materialism individually or as a group.

In a survey conducted at WJ, in eight English classes (two classes from each grade), only 24%* of students believed that materialism is a negative aspect in a school community. Twenty-six percent of students said they did not believe that materialism is a negative aspect in a school community. The remaining 49% students said they either didn’t know whether or not it is negative, or they thought it may be negative.

However, English teacher Janelle Ryan has differing views.

“I don’t think that it’s a good trait to have,” she said.

In addition to an obsession over material objects, Ryan also noted another negative trait in students. She found that some students care very little about their possessions. One morning, while bringing lost-and-found items from her classroom to the Security Office, Ryan voiced her concerns to the guard who was present.

“I actually said to the security guard, ‘I can’t believe how few students come back for the things that they leave in my room,’” she said.

Also a mother to a five year-old daughter, Ryan cites her parental role as a reason of interest in the topic of searching for lost items. She explains that kids should be held responsible for bringing home the clothes that they left with.

“As a mom, in particular, I wouldn’t be happy to spend $50 on a Walter Johnson sweatshirt, only to have my daughter come home and say, ‘Well I lost it, I just need another one’, or ‘I don’t care,’” said Ryan.

Math teacher Robert Warthen has also noticed this behavior in his classroom, particularly with graphing calculators, which sell for upwards of $70.

“I think [students] have a blithe regard for what possessions mean, because they don’t have to pay for [them] themselves,” he said. “[I] see calculators, TI-83s, left in class, and students never come to question where it is, they just get another one. That’s just bizarre.”

And while prices of items may be of concern to adults, most students don’t care much at all, a view reflected by the survey. When asked if WJ students are concerned with items and their relative prices, 33% percent said their peers were somewhat excessively concerned and 37% did not notice concern. The majority of students surveyed believe there is very little, if any, materialism occurring at WJ; only 9% said students were excessively concerned with their possessions and prices of possessions.

Though Ryan believes materialism is a negative trait, she has not noticed any specific excessive materialistic behavior in the WJ community, with an exception to the presence of technology in students’ lives.

“The only thing that stands out to me as being a materialistic trait is just all of the electronics that students have,” she said, explaining she doesn’t notice significant materialistic behavior over clothing and such.

In contrast, Warthen sees materialism quite often and believes students exhibit materialism more in their appearances, particularly clothing brands and styles.

He explains that high school students and teens may be more materialistic because they have access to money from their parents. This all changes in college, where there is less of a presence of materialism. Though students may still have the money to buy the items they did in high school, there is less of an emphasis on material things.

From Warthen’s viewpoint, materialism is an issue associated with adolescence, particularly in high schoolers.

“College is it’s own world, if for no other reason you’re away from your parents,” he said. “It’s easier to hit the parent[s] up for the money to buy this stuff now. In college, most people don’t care. [Materialism] just goes away.”

Students who responded to the survey had similar answers regarding the frequency of conversations about prices of their belongings. Seventy percent of respondents said they only sometimes or rarely observed conversations regarding prices with their peers. However, prices of products may not be the only indicator of materialism; brand names are another factor to consider when assessing materialism.

Junior Jordan Rodriguez regularly hears conversations of this nature from student-to-student, often times about shopping and prices.

“In my case, [the conversation] makes me feel inferior, because I can’t afford these items,” he said.

There are many factors that play into the presence of materialism in a school and in a community. One of them is socioeconomic status. Though racially and culturally diverse, WJ has little diversity in terms of family incomes. Most students belong to middle class or upper middle class households. According to a 2010-2011 Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) report, only 7.1% of WJ’s total population is eligible for free or reduced school meals, compared to the county’s average of 30.7% of students. According to MCPS, students may become eligible for free or reduced meals depending on the number of people in their household in conjunction with their household income.

Ryan believes that socioeconomic factors play a role in materialism.

“I’ve worked in one school in this county where materialism was not exhibited nearly so much,” she said. “A large population of students were grateful just to have food on the table.”

Warthen agrees that socioeconomic factors play a role in the amount of materialism present, but only to an extent. He cites huge group peer pressure, which drives students to purchase expensive items even when they cannot afford such products.

“I think it a lot of times, [materialism] overlooks [socioeconomic factors],” he said. “Regrettably, some people [who] cannot afford to have the certain clothes necessary for the quote ‘image,’ the materialistic image, they find a way to do it anyway and it’s much more crippling for them, and it’s probably quite a burden on them.”

But peer pressure is just one factor in the equation. According to sophomore Leanna Taylor, one’s upbringing can influence the materialistic traits a student may harbor.

“How they were raised [can be influential], ‘cause if their parents are materialistic, then that makes [their children] materialistic,” said Taylor.

Warthen agrees that parents are a large influence on students’ materialistic behavior.

“A lot of it has to do with the fact that the parents are willing to go along with this display of materialism,” he said. “If they wanted to say no, it would stop. But [for] parents, it’s one battle that a lot of them decide not to fight.”

Based on the data obtained, most WJ students do not believe that materialism is a large force in the school community. Many are indifferent on the subject, and most fall into the middle of the spectrum; they do not believe materialistic behavior is very prevalent, yet they do not say it is non-existent. This may suggest a homogeneous population of students coming from similar financial backgrounds, or WJ may be an exception in a nation of material things. An economically diverse group of people may notice a greater amount of materialistic behavior, just as a group of people similar in an economic sense may have the same access to the similar items, allowing less of a gap for one to recognize excessive behavior.

*All percentages were rounded. The survey was administered to eight English classes, totaling 181 students. However, not all questions were answered by all students (or were removed due to multiple/no answers circled), and so some data may not represent the opinions of all 181 students.